Drawing on a social phenomenological perspective in the sociology of everyday life, this ethno-graphic field study explores different ways in which women with rheumatoid arthritis perceive participation in a patient education programme as significant to their everyday lives. In particular, there are three ways in which this participation is perceived as significant to everyday life: as identity work, as an extension of “action space” in the practicalities of everyday life, and as a special community based on a common chronic condition. Furthermore, we uncover a difference in terms of what programme participation means to recently diagnosed participants, on one hand, and experienced participants, on the other hand, which is related to differences in their lived experiences of living with and managing chronic illness. This ethnographic study provides an important understanding of how these women create meaning inter-subjectively through social interaction but interpret this meaning individually based on their individual biographical experiences. The findings are relevant both to those who study the significance of patient education (both practitioners and researchers) and to those who are exploring how individuals make sense of living with chronic illness.

Bülow, P., & Hyden, C. (2004). Patient School as a Way of Creating Meaning in a Contested Illness; the Case of CFS. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 7, 227-249.

Kristiansen, T. M., Primdahl, J., Antoft, R., & Horslev-Petersen, K. (2015). The Two Faces of User Involvement: Everyday Life and Local Context. Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund (Journal of Research in Illness and Society).

Primdahl, J., Wagner, L., & Horslev-Petersen, K. (2011). Being an Outpatient with Rheumatoid Arthritis—A Focus Group Study on Patient’ Self-Efficacy and Experiences from Participation in a Short Course and One of Three Different Outpatient Settings. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 25, 394-403.http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00854.x

Depression is associated with increased medical morbidity and mortality among patients with chronic medical illnesses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial predictors of depression among patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses in Jordan. A cross sectional survey using 806 patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses has been used to collect data in regards to depressive symptoms, psychological distress, coping, optimism, life satisfaction, and perceived social support. 27.5% of the patients reported that they had moderate to severe depressive symptoms, and about 31% of them had mild level of depression. Psychological distress, perceived social support from family, life satisfaction and optimism were significant predictors of depressive symptoms (R2 = .29; F 11, 803 = 29.7, p < .001). Male and female patients were significantly different in their depressive scores (t = -2.57, p = .01). Implication for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Background: Depression contributes to an increased medical morbidity and mortality among patients with chronic medical illnesses. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of depression among patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross sectional survey using 412 patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses has been used to collected data in regards to depressive symptoms, psychological distress, coping, and life satisfaction. Results: 25.2% of the patients reported that they had moderate to severe depressive symptoms, and about 13.8% of them had mild level of depression. Psychological distress and life satisfaction were significant correlates with depressive symptoms (r = 0.33, 0.54, p < 0.001), while coping strategies is not. The results also showed that there is a significant and negative correlation between patients’ age and depression score (r = 0.17, p ≤ 0.001). Regarding gender differences, the analysis showed that there was no significant difference between male and female patients in their depressive symptoms (t = ﹣0.69, p = 0.488). Conclusion: implication for clinical practice and research discussed.